ARTISTS

The seven items in fair condition, on lightly-aged paper and with the last two with wear to extremities. ONE: 15 June 1929; on letterhead of Lansdowne House, Lansdowne Road, Holland Park. 1 p, 4to. Accepting a dinner invitiation. 'I wish we did not meet so seldom, and after this long gap I hope we shall see each other more often'. TWO: 10 January 1931; on letterhead as One. 2 pp, 12mo. He is 'going to work in Paris a good deal this year - and shall often have occasion to take unfinished - or finished - things - pictures drawings - small sculpture to & fro between here & Paris'.

12mo, 3 pp. On bifolium. Clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. She has 'finished the brown drawing of elves, & birds singing', and, as she is going into the country for a few days, will leave it, 'in a portfolio', at Stratton St. She asks him to 'kindly take care of it', as he has been 'good enough to do with the others. It is, as you know, a very careful & highly-finished drawing'. She asks him to have 'the delicacy of the lines reproduced, & the drawing of the limbs of the little elves, etc. very carefully & exactly rendered, otherwise the drawing wd.

On piece of good quality art paper, 15 x 19 cm. In good condition, in grey card frame. Shows a cheery Acton in profile, drawn in grey and black. Signed in ink on drawing 'b.g.b. | 82', with 'Sir Harold Acton at the Arts Club 20.I.82' in pencil at foot. On the reverse of the drawing Bagnall has written 'Brian Bagnall | Sir Harold Acton at a private view of Russell Forman paintings Arts Club 20.I.82'.

The five posters, presumably produced for the classroom, are scarce, with no reference to them on the internet or elsewhere. They are attractively painted in a bold and vivid panoramic frieze style. Each carries a single illustration showing two (counting the Cabot brothers as one) explorers in front of groups of men, with a merged background behind them.

Portrait: 34.5 x 20 cm. Laid down on a piece of paper of the same size. Good: a little dusty and with unobtrusive 1.5 cm closed tear to left margin, and minor traces of previous mounting on reverse. Very good reproduction, on photographic paper of a complex, ghostly scene in a moonlit graveyard, with a number of supernatural figures among the graves. Decorative border with elongated skeletons.

4to, [xiv] + 479 + [Appendix:] 56 + [Index:] [lxxx] pp. Uncut, in original quarter-binding of grey paper boards and green cloth spine, with chipped red paper label, gilt, 'CATALOGUE OF BRITISH PORTRAITS'. Internally sound and tight on aged paper, apart from detached half-title and flyleaf. In worn boards, with closed tears to hinges. Ownership inscription of 'F. Walker' on flyleaf, and armorial bookplate of Captain Neville Rodwell Wilkinson, Ulster King of Arms and Principal Herald of All Ireland, on front pastedown.

Landscape 12mo. 12 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on aged paper, in envelope addressed by Lamb to Inglis. On 'seeing the picture after that long interval' he was 'not ashamed of it', but 'when it was new my friends used to rag me about my "Morgue" pictures', there being 'a few others of similar gruesome import'. Now that he is 'far past youth' he is 'painting mostly scenes of sweetness & serenity'. He is sorry that she is 'denied the priviledge [sic] I have enjoyed all these sinister times', that of being able to paint.

12mo, 1 p. Fair, on aged paper folded twice. He has 'no idea where the Graphotype Company "hail from" & cannot find out', despite making enquiries.

12mo, 22 pp (followed by final blank leaf). Stitched pamphlet. Text clear and complete. On discoloured and worn paper. 152 'ouvrages d'arts' arranged in alphabetical order under the names of the artists, from 'François Alewaters, peintre à Malines' and 'Henri Adams, à Malines' to 'G. P. Wuyts, de Lierre' and 'L. Zwitzer, de Malines'. Preliminary notice headed 'Police du Salon'. Scarce: no copy on WorldCat or COPAC.

12mo, 2 pp. Bifolium. Written out in one hand, and signed 'Bradley & Co' in another. Addressed to 'W. F. Stocks Esqre | Glen Elwy | St Asaph. | Flint[shire]'. Thirteen lines. Text clear and complete. On foxed and lightly-aged paper. Giving the firm's 'charge for receiving unpacking & delivering pictures to the R.A. or other London Exhibitions' and for 'collecting repacking & forwarding', as well as the dimensions of pictures for which these charges apply.

12mo, 2 pp. 15 lines. Text clear and complete. Good, on aged paper. Providing a 'recommendation as a teacher' for his correspondent, 'in the neighbourhood of Leamington'. 'My observation of the progress you have made, during your studentship at the Royal Academy enables me to state, that, you are, in my opinion fully competent to undertake the teaching of the elementary branches of art'. From a small archive of Walter F. Stocks's correspondence.

12mo, 1 p. Ten lines. Clear and complete. On bifolium with mourning border. Fair, on aged and discoloured paper. Endorsing the application of Walter F. Stocks for 'the vacant professorship of landscape painting in Queen's College'. Stocks 'has been an exhibitor at the Royal Academy for many years' and Calderon 'has admired his paintings on our walls'.

All three letters 12mo: the first of three pages, and the last two one page apiece. Texts clear and complete. Good, on lightly-aged paper. Letter One: Sir Henry Vansittart Neale will be pleased to allow Grundy 'a look at his pictures' at Bisham Abbey. Gives directions. Discusses Grundy's letter in the Daily Express, complaining about the 'crowding out' of pictures at the Royal Academy.

12mo, 2 pp. First leaf of letter only. On worn aged paper, with slight loss and chpping to extremities. Docketed by Melville in red at head of first page with date 'Feby 1829'. Begins 'Sir Thos. Lawrence presents his Compts to Captn. Melville Grindlay, [...]'. Thanking Grindlay for the gift of 'his Works from the Scenery and Architecture of India; and from the Sculpture in the Cave Temples of Ellora'. Lawrence has 'received great pleasure from the frequent inspection' of the works. Ends abruptly, at foot of second page, 'and very particularly, from the view <...>'.

On one side of piece of paper, irregularly-cut from bottom of letter, and measuring approximately 3.5 x 11 cm. Lightly-aged, spotted and creased, with thin strip from mount adhering to the left. Reads 'Yours sincerely, | [signed] Kate Perugini | 24th. Oct.'

8vo, 1 p. Nine lines. Text clear and complete. Fair, on aged and lightly-spotted paper, lightly-creased and with small closed tears at edges of central crease. From the context of other items in the same collection, this letter relates to an 'Artists general Benevolent Banquet' (for which Dollman was acting as steward). Hassall writes that the previous year he 'got into trouble through giving subscriptions to stewards of other society's than the R[oyal]. I[nstitution].', so that 'if there's to be an R. I. table this year I must support it for all I'm worth'.

Foolscap (31.5 x 20.5 cm): 1 p. 24 lines of text. Address, with postmark, on reverse. Good, on lightly aged and creased paper. Discussing a picture he has been painting of 'Captain Tonyn', which 'is within one days work of being finished'. Points out that there has been a misunderstanding about the price: 'fifty five pounds [...] could not be the case because I never yet reced from any body pounds, but always Guinneas'. Because of 'the great work that so large a Canvas wod. require (it being bigger than a whole length for which I had at that time 50 Gs. and now 60 Gs.

Landscape sketchbook of eighteen leaves. Leaf dimensions roughly 17.5 x 13 cm. One leaf loose. A further leaf has been removed. Drawings on twenty-five pages and the rear pastedown. Bound in rough grey cloth with printed design on front board. Printed stationer's ticket (label) on front pastedown. Grubby, and with the inevitable pencil offsetting, but good and tight on good paper, lightly-aged but unaffected by damp or stain. Contains some charming images, showing the promise that would win Wright a scholarship to the Royal College of Art three years later.

On piece of watermarked laid paper 12.5 x 13.5 cm. In fair condition: lightly-aged and creased. Clearly in response to a request for an autograph. Firmly written, with the signature 5.5 cm long. Reads 'A. N. Roussoff | Cairo 1892'. Roussoff famously wagered that he could produce a dozen pastels indistinguishable from those of Whistler. He lost the bet, and was 'obliged to take a course of mud baths after his defeat'.

Scottish art critic and engineer (1864-1950). One page, octavo. Very good. Bearing the Society's stamp. 'It is very good of the Council of the Royal Society of Arts to ask me to become a member, but, while thanking them, I regret that I do not see my [^ way,] at present, to join any more societies.' Signed 'James L. Caw'.

4to: 22 pp. Leaf dimensions roughly 280 x 210 mm. Ring binder in original card wraps printed in red. Very good in lightly-spotted wraps. Ring binding slightly rusted. Features ten pages of bright, striking and attractive label designs. The first page shows four 'Colours of Design Separated' for 'William's Extra Stout'. The second page shows, in four diagrams, how 'The colours are printed one after the other' on a label for American Cream Soda. Another page shows the design for 'Smith & Jones Ltd Nut Brown Ale in three colour combinations. Other products include S.

Bifolium (leaf dimensions 24.5 x 18 cm), 3 pp, on paper watermarked 1817. Text and image clear and complete on grubby and lightly-creased paper. The two leaves have been gummed to one another along a thin vertical strip, and it may be that they were originally separate. An unusual and scarce piece of ephemera. At the head of the first page is a characteristic neo-classical engraving (roughly 7.5 x 11.5 cm) showing a group of five cherub-artists, holding portolio, palette and bust, appealing to a winged goddess on a cloud, with a temple in the background.

12mo (dimensions of leaf roughly 15.5 x 10.5 cm). Fifteen leaves each with a page of letterpress, and twelve engravings. Uncoloured. Foxed and slightly dogeared, in aged, worn and spotted wraps. Each of the twelve engravings is accompanied by a leaf carrying a page of letterpress with an illustrative quotation from Scott's work. First leaf with printed page listing four works 'Designed, Etched, and Published by G. Cruikshank', with prices; printed title; final leaf with printed page listing six priced 'Works Illustrated by George Cruikshank.

Dimensions of paper roughly 10.5 x 4.5 cm. Two edges straight and two rough. Aged and grubby, with a 3 cm closed tear (repaired on reverse with archival tape), extending from the right and affecting the last two letters of Cruikshank's bold signature, which is 7 cm long and initially 3 cm high, with the final 'e' of the Christian name in superscript and the surname underlined in a backwards stroke continuing the final letter. Neatly mounted on a piece of card (roughly 9 x 14 cm) and presented in a plastic sleeve.

On both sides of a piece of wove paper, dimensions roughly 8.5 x 20 cm. Cruikshank's signature is approximately 9 cm long, with the final letter of his Christian name in superscript. Paper aged and creased, with central vertical fold, and wear to one edge (not affecting text). Recto reads '<...> in the interim - | That 2 door Mats be ordered for the use of the Society | Adjourned till Thursday 7th June - | [signed] Geoe Cruikshank | Monday June 4. | General Meeting of the Society | Mr Parsonage in the Chair.

Both items concern John Littlejohn's 'British Watercolour Painting and Painters of Today' (Pitman, 1931). Note of 18 December 1930: 12mo, 1 p. Five lines. Good on lightly aged paper. Thanking the publishers for sending 'the prints of my drawings [...] they are really very well done!' Letter of 13 February 1931: 12mo,1 p. Eight lines. Good, on lightly creased paper. Thanking the publishers for four presentation copies of the book. 'It is a handsome book and the drawings are well reproduced: I am particularly pleased with those of my own drawings.' Two items,

12mo, 4 pp. Good, on aged paper with a little light staining at head. A significant letter, in which Warren gives information of those of Warren's 'poor works' which have been engraved: 'they have been chiefly for book illustration and are spread through many publishers'. Begins by describing how 'Murray's Childe Harold has many vignettes, very well engraved from my drawings'. Ends by saying that 'There is also a print in the mixed style of considerable size engraved by Humphreys but not yet published. It is from my picture of a story teller reciting in a coffee house of Damascus'.

4to: 2 pp. 26 lines. He is totally flattered by the obliging comments of the recipient in sending the first three issues of 'l'Artiste'. Discusses the merits of this 'intéressant ouvrage'. Describes the limited 'coopération' he will be able to provide. 'J'espere ainsi que vous voudrez bien vous contenter de l'envoi que j'ai l'honneur de vous faire de la notice, dernièrement publiée, du musée que je dirige, dont la 1re et la 4e.

12mo, 1 p. Good, on lightly aged and ruckled paper. Laid down on a piece of grey paper removed from an autograph album. Accepting an invitation, and informing the recipient that 'Mrs Callcott has recovered from her last attack - but she is still slightly affected at times, and is very weak.'

Seven lines on one side of a piece of aged wove paper, roughly 12.5 x 10 cm. A hurried, smudged communication. Reads 'My Dear Sir | I have the ill luck to be obliged to attend a Council of the Royal Academy. We commence business punctually [last word underlined] at 8 oClock - Confound the R.A.!!! | Truly yrs | [signed] F Chantrey | Tuesday Morng'.